After Moonlight Hayate left, Uzuki Yūgao took out a signal flare from her pocket, pulled the fuse, and threw it into the air.
With a whoosh—
A gust of wind sliced past, and the flare was shot down before it could even launch.
Naruto instantly appeared behind Yūgao, a high-speed spinning Rasengan forming in his palm.
Sensing the sharp whistling sound behind her, Yūgao reacted quickly, dodging to the side and drawing the ninja blade at her waist.
After opening some distance, she finally saw her attacker clearly and frowned.
It was none other than the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki she was supposed to be protecting.
Naruto.
Was he being controlled by the Tailed Beast… or attacking of his own will?
Her mind couldn't process it fast enough, but one thing was certain — she had to hold him here until reinforcements arrived.
Unfortunately…
She soon realized she wasn't even close to Naruto's level.
Shadow clones swarmed her from every direction, and the relentless assault nearly crushed her.
After defeating Yūgao, Naruto pulled off his mask, revealing his delicate, boyish face. Then he calmly put her mask back on her, dragged her into the bushes, and tossed her aside.
Clean. Efficient. No witnesses.
After finishing everything, Naruto looked toward the distant Hokage Rock and fell into deep thought.
After dealing with the ANBU tailing him, Naruto didn't take the chance to leave the village.
Instead, he returned to the busy streets of Konoha.
Kurama thought Naruto had gone the wrong way and couldn't help grumbling,
"Naruto… that's the center of Konoha. You're walking the wrong way. The Forest of Death is the other direction."
Naruto glanced at him lazily.
"Not wrong. We still have something to pick up."
Kurama frowned but didn't say anything more. He simply stared at the streets silently.
Perhaps because the entire village radiated faint hostility toward Naruto, even the Nine-Tails felt strangely irritated.
Naruto didn't notice Kurama's mood.
He wandered the streets casually, waiting for the Third Hokage to leave the Hokage Building so he could sneak in and steal the Scroll of Seals — the forbidden techniques jackpot.
If he only wanted to leave Konoha, he'd had countless chances over the past six months.
With shadow clones as cover, he could've reached the border of the Land of Fire easily and disappeared without a trace.
But that wasn't enough.
He wanted power.
Real power.
The techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals were dangerous as hell, sure — but insanely strong.
Especially the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Impure World Reincarnation.
Straight-up broken abilities.
Only with that kind of strength — strength comparable to the Five Kage — could he truly survive in the ninja world.
After waiting patiently, Naruto sensed the Third Hokage's chakra along with several ANBU.
They rushed past the street and headed straight toward the Uchiha district.
Once their presence disappeared from his perception range, Naruto moved toward the Hokage Building.
At that moment, he spotted two familiar faces on the street.
Shikamaru and Chōji.
Shikamaru paused, then frowned and walked over.
"Naruto. I need to ask you something. Come with me."
Naruto gave him a long look, then followed behind him.
After entering a quiet alley, Shikamaru spoke bluntly,
"Naruto… you're planning to leave the village, aren't you? Even if you're strong, the outside world isn't that simple."
Naruto wasn't annoyed at being exposed.
"How'd you figure it out?"
"You never hid it," Shikamaru said lazily. "Early graduation. Treating everyone to food. Acting like you're saying goodbye. It's obvious."
Even while sounding half-asleep, every word hit dead center.
Naruto chuckled bitterly.
"So obvious, huh… Yeah. I do plan to leave. Not because I hate school. I just… want freedom."
"Freedom…"
Shikamaru sighed.
"If you defect, ANBU will hunt you down. Is there really nothing here worth staying for? Think carefully. Is it worth it?"
Naruto's smile faded.
"I have reasons to stay."
Then he looked up at the sky.
"But I have even more reasons to leave."
Shikamaru smiled helplessly.
"Seems talking's useless… Still, as a future ninja of the village, I can't just ignore you."
"So you're going to fight me?" Naruto said calmly. "You're not my match."
Shikamaru walked over and patted Chōji's shoulder.
"Chōji. Ready to get knocked out by Naruto?"
Chōji froze mid-chip.
"Huh?! Why me?!"
Shikamaru didn't explain. He formed hand seals, and his shadow shot toward Naruto.
Chōji sighed and activated the Expansion Jutsu with a helpless face.
In the next second—
Naruto vanished.
Then appeared behind them.
Two clean chops.
Thud. Thud.
Both collapsed instantly.
Naruto walked out of the alley with a weird expression.
Clearly weaker than me… but still trying to stop me.
Troublesome guys… but good friends.
Dusting himself off, he leapt onto the rooftops and headed for the Hokage Building.
Soon, Naruto crouched on a tall tree, observing the building from above.
Even with most ANBU dispatched, security here was still tight.
Charging in head-on would be stupid.
So… brains over brawn.
After memorizing the chakra signatures of the remaining guards, Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu.
Poof.
He turned into Uzuki Yūgao and walked toward the building openly.
The guards saw the ANBU uniform and waved him through without question.
Too easy.
After entering successfully, Naruto headed straight for the secret room storing the Scroll of Seals.
He stopped at the door.
No key.
But that wasn't a problem.
"Sorry about this wall," he muttered.
BOOM.
With a loud blast, he smashed straight through the steel-reinforced wall, grabbed the Scroll of Seals from the center of the room, and bolted before the alarm fully triggered.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
Sirens screamed through the building.
The guards panicked like their hair was on fire.
Ten seconds later, they gathered outside the destroyed room.
Seeing the missing scroll, their faces turned pale.
Whoever attacked the Hokage Building…
Was absolutely screwed.
Now they could only pray they caught the bastard fast.
Or their careers were finished.
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